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Ratiometric pH Sensing and Imaging in Living Cells With Dual-Emission Semiconductor Polymer Dots

Ratiometric pH Sensing and Imaging in Living Cells With Dual-Emission Semiconductor Polymer Dots

Piaopiao Chen, Iqra Ilyas, Su He, Yichen Xing, Zhigang Jin, Chaobiao Huang

Molecules. 2019 Aug 12;24(16):2923.

PMID: 31409040

Abstract:

Polymer dots (Pdots) represent newly developed semiconductor polymer nanoparticles and exhibit excellent characteristics as fluorescent probes. To improve the sensitivity and biocompatibility of Pdots ratiometric pH biosensors, we synthesized 3 types of water-soluble Pdots: Pdots-PF, Pdots-PP, and Pdots-PPF by different combinations of fluorescent dyes poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO), poly[(9,9-dioctyl-fluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-(1,4-benzo-{2,1',3}-thiadazole)] (PFBT), and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). We found that Pdots-PPF exhibits optimal performance on pH sensing. PFO and FITC in Pdots-PPF produce pH-insensitive (λ = 439 nm) and pH-sensitive (λ = 517 nm) fluorescence respectively upon a single excitation at 380 nm wavelength, which enables Pdots-PPF ratiometric pH sensing ability. Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) together with the use of PFBT amplify the FITC signal, which enables Pdots-PPF robust sensitivity to pH. The emission intensity ratio (I517/I439) of Pdots-PPF changes linearly as a function of pH within the range of pH 3.0 to 8.0. Pdots-PPF also possesses desirable reversibility and stability in pH measurement. More importantly, Pdots-PPF was successfully used for cell imaging in Hela cells, exhibiting effective cellular uptake and low cytotoxicity. Our study suggests the promising potential of Pdots-PPF as an in vivo biomarker.

Chemicals Related in the Paper:

Catalog Number	Product Name	Structure	CAS Number	Price
AP278176173	Poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-yleneethynylene)		278176-17-3	Price

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